Belonging Again
by SlenderMonkey
Summary: Robbed of one family, Sakura finds the beginnings of another.


It was Sakura's birthday, according to her uncle. He was dead now, but she remembered the short time he spent with her, and the easy words they shared. The man was no Tohsaka, but he had been her real family, all the same. Not like those who kept her. Not like Them.

In the years since Sakura learnt her uncle died, and her parents not long after, the little girl constantly felt a great void in her heart. Emptiness became ordinary, and misery was so usual for her that she was numbed to acute suffering. What once filled Sakura with intense pain and fear eventually was normalized. All aspects of her life became a gloomy malaise, wherein she neither truly suffered, nor did she become happy.

Sakura's schooling thus far had been uneventful, with no teacher or classmate the wiser as to what was going on at the Matou house. Sakura was always a quiet, well-behaved child. As the girl grew, They imposed treatments on her with less frequency. The time Sakura spent in the pit was never easy, but it was never so hard as it was when she was younger, freshly arrived into her new cage. Now that her eyes and hair had changed color, there was nothing to it but to lie in discomfort until gradually, incrementally, the sessions finished.

This was not to say that Sakura Matou was wholly deadened to the sum of her experiences, both nightmarish and mundane, in the house of Them. Some nights she cried herself to sleep, though she could scarcely say for what reason anymore. Waking up screaming from bad dreams was more common. No one ever came to Sakura when her sleep was disturbed as such; she wouldn't want any of Them to enter her bedroom.

One of the hardest moments had been less than a month ago, when Sakura shakily got dressed following a treatment. Unaware of a spot of black, greasy ichor left on her hand from the pit, she nearly ruined her precious ribbon with the obscene secretion. In truth, only the tip of the silk strand had been soiled, and Sakura was just forced to snip off mere centimeters, but she wept, all the same. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried so hard. The ribbon was a sacred reminder that Sakura clung to daily, a gift from her own blood. Her sister gave it with an innocent smile, which is what Sakura saw whenever she touched it. In the depths of her smothered tears, the child glanced timidly at the remaining fabric. The ribbon really wasn't that much shorter. She could still tie it in her hair the same way.

The spring breeze was still chilly, winter having just ended. Not many plants had begun to bloom, and Sakura passed under a cherry tree she had once seen flowering without a tilt of her head. Now that her uniform had arrived, she wanted to try it on and walk in the general direction to her new school. Truthfully, Sakura wanted any excuse to leave that house, and be apart from Them as long as she could.

_I hate... Them_, she thought, hugging herself tremulously as she walked. The fresh spring air and the sound of birds stirred something uniquely dark in Sakura. _I hate Them. They keep me locked away, and make me go into that disgusting hole with the worms and bugs. They don't care that they squirm all over my body and slither inside me. I hate my parents. They sent me away to that awful house for no reason at all, and left me alone with Them. I hate my uncle. He died before he could do anything at all to help me. I hate my sister! She hasn't even come to visit me for years..._

Abruptly, Sakura stopped in her tracks. With one arm still wrapped around her waist, she lightly fingered the soft silk tied in her hair.

_No. I shouldn't think like that. Rin must have a good reason for staying away. It's not her fault._ She stroked the ribbon again. _It's not her fault. I shouldn't be thinking these things anyway. It's so selfish. I'm such a bad girl..._

Determined to block out her inner turmoil, Sakura forced her little hands to her sides, balling them into fists. Rounding a corner, with nothing concrete on her mind, Sakura nearly bumped into a hurried boy, slightly taller than her, carrying a sack of groceries.

"Oh!" It was Sakura who was the most surprised. The auburn-haired boy froze, looking baffled as he watched the girl jump back and stand up straight.

"Sorry," he said, scratching his head. "I should have been more careful."

Studying Sakura intently, he took note of how she had leapt away from him rather than collide. Her toes pointed inward, Sakura maintained a distance, her forearms drawn up and shaking. After a moment of silence, she smoothed the front of her skirt.

"Nice to meet you," Sakura said slowly. She bowed stiffly, her hands on her knees. To her shock, the stranger laughed. Had she done something wrong?

"You don't have to be so formal! My name is Shirou Emiya. What's your name?"

Sakura relaxed gradually, her chest loosening. She took a deep breath.

"Sakura... Matou."

The boy seemed more at ease after being taken aback by this strange girl's shyness. He took a few tentative steps forward before stopping again, and adjusting the load he was carrying.

"Hey, that's a St. Lucy's uniform, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

Shirou smiled. "You go to the same middle school as me."

"Um... not... not yet. I'm a first-year."

"And the term hasn't started," said Shirou, finishing her thought.

Sakura felt confused. She didn't understand how a boy she just met could be so forthcoming. Friendly, even. She had thought this was the type of conversation one would expect to have with a family member, or someone you'd known for years.

"I'm kind of on an errand right now," Shirou began. Studying the face of his new acquaintance, he was aware of shining tears that had yet to fall. Sakura brushed at her purple eyes with the back of a hand. "Would you... like to come with me? I'm just heading home. I, uh... I'm about to make dinner..."

Shirou stopped talking and lowered his eyes. He was saying too much now, but the girl's sweet, sad face unnerved him. Sakura simply stared.

"Sorry," said Shirou, collecting his thoughts. "It's just that if we're going to the same school, and you're a first-year, I thought it would be nice if you had someone there you knew."

The boy held his breath. Was he too bold? Sakura looked confused, but then her countenance warmed, and she managed a shaky smile.

"Thank you. I'd like that," she said quietly.

"It's nothing, really! I am going to be your senpai, after all."

The two of them strode easily down the block, glancing at each other with guarded, but courteous faces. On the way, Sakura said as little about herself as she could, but she goaded Shirou into revealing who he was. He was an orphan, he said with a stoic smile, and his foster father had died recently, but left him a sprawling Japanese mansion and many heartfelt memories. Sakura marveled at the confidence and pride he exuded, in no way slipping into conceitedness.

_He's strong_, Sakura thought. _Who is this boy_?

The two arrived at the gate of an impressive Asian manor. Sakura tried hard not to gape in astonishment as she followed her young host inside.

"I'm home, Fuji-nee!"

"Oh, Shirou, it's..." Taiga trailed off as she strode into the entryway, eyeing her ward's companion with some suspicion.

"This is Taiga Fujimura. She's a friend of my dad's."

Sakura didn't pry.

"Sorry for intruding," she said, bowing at the waist.

"Her name is Sakura Matou. I met her on my way back. She's starting at my school soon."

"Oh, a new student, hmm?" Taiga's tone wasn't unkind, though her expression remained wary. That wariness dissipated as she took in the newcomer. Taiga's grin returned as she saw how cute Sakura was.

"It's a pleasure, Sakura-chan. You're welcome to stay for dinner, if you'd like. Shirou was just about to help me in the kitchen."

"What? Fuji-nee, you said that you could handle it by yourself! It's simple enough..."

The effect of Shirou's words was vitriol, and Sakura shrank as she watched Taiga explode at Shirou.

"Well I could do it by myself, but then I'd have no time to get that friggin' paperwork done, would I?"

"Aren't you trying to deny that you can't cook something complicated?" Shirou weathered the assault good-naturedly, and Sakura weirdly thought it slightly comedic.

"I... could make something. If you wouldn't mind." Sakura spoke as a thunderclap of bold inspiration struck her.

"Are you really okay with that? You're a guest."

"Oh, Shirou, let her be!" said Taiga, well relieved that the pressure was off her for once. She brusquely marched him to the kitchen. "If Sakura says that she wants to show us what she can do, then I say let her!"

Shirou frowned slightly as his guardian gave a carefree laugh, he began slicing vegetables.

"Aren't you going to help, Fuji-nee?" he asked.

"It just so happens that I've got a ton of notes to review at the moment. Besides, too many cooks spoil the broth, don't you know? Ha ha ha..."

Taiga ducked out of the kitchen in a flash, leaving the boy and girl together. Sakura turned her head with an uneasy look. Catching Shirou's eye momentarily, she darted to the bag he had brought, blushing furiously.

"Geez, it's just stir-fry, basically," Shirou muttered. "How hard could it be? I bet Fuji-nee is just intimidated because this isn't a Japanese recipe."

"I've made this before," said Sakura. "Don't worry. Just leave it to me... Senpai."

The food was prepared and served, and all at the table found the dish worthy of praise. Sakura, unused to kind words, sat seiza and willed herself not to blush.

"I have to say, you've done a fabulous job with this spread, Sakura! I wouldn't mind employing you as our cook from now on."

"Oh, it was nothing."

"Good in the kitchen _and_ modest... And so pretty, too. You'll want to keep your eye on this one, Shirou, heehee..."

Taiga put a sisterly arm around Sakura's small shoulders. The younger girl reddened and fidgeted, but Shirou saw that her smile widened considerably. He chastised his friend nonetheless.

"Come on, Fuji-nee, you're embarrassing her."

"Speak for yourself! You're coloring like a boiled octopus, boy!"

"A-Am I?"

Shirou whirled his head in vain for a handy mirror, and Taiga cackled.

"Ah! _Now_ you are!"

Shirou and Sakura, both with burning faces, stared each other full in the face. After a heartbeat, the two erupted into laughter that joined Taiga's, filling the room with merriment it hadn't heard in years.

As the evening came to a close, Sakura thanked her new friends sincerely for their hospitality, knowing that she had best return before dark. Apprehensive at going back, Sakura slowly slipped on her shoes. Taiga must have noted something amiss, and stepped forward to wrap Sakura in a big hug. The girl stiffened, but then hugged back, burying her face innocently in Taiga's warm bosom. Swiftly, Sakura was off, smiling girlishly at the gate as she waved back, her eyes closed.

"I'll see you at school, Sakura!"

* * *

Spring was now in full bloom, and Sakura was no longer feeling cold or shy enough to keep from wearing the Japanese-style bloomers of her gym uniform. Contentedly, she stood by herself under a cherry tree, watching the far field as the girls stretched in pairs. A bright-haired boy raced around the distant track, jumping bravely at the hurdles in his way.

"I'm really grateful, Senpai," Sakura said to herself. "You and Taiga... and Onee-chan... you'll keep me going."

Soft pink petals fluttered down in front of her. She drank in the clean scent with bliss.

* * *

Thank you for reading; please write a review.


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